Hotel Room Windows Facing a Concrete Wall

[DeathNote11]

Arived at our hotel on the Isle of Man & the windows are approx 4ft away from a concrete wall. No natural light & just absolutely depressing & claustrophobic.

There isn't a reception, there was a code to get in then the room key was in a key safe. I've text the number saying we can't spend 5 days in this room & I want to know if they can change rooms. If not, I want a refund so I can find somewhere else to stay. I've checked through all advertising & paperwork & there's no mention of any rooms having this problem & I most certainly wouldn't have booked it had I known. Person on the other end of the phone number has ignored my message so far (they had sent me a text a minute earlier so definitely a manned number). It's not a cheap place in comparison with others nearby.

Am I right to think I can request a refund if they can't/won't change rooms? It was booked through booking.com & paid by credit card. Payment for the entire 4 night stay has already been taken.

AIBU to think guests should be told if a hotel plans to give them a room with such an undesirable feature?

I think YABU.

Unless it was sold as "with a sea view" or "views over the marina / mountains / rolling countryside" then they haven't mis sold anything.

For me, the hotel room is where I shower, dress, and sleep. On holiday, I am out and about, not sitting in a hotel room looking out of a window.

They don't have to give you a view unless they've promised one in the description. You don't have a right to a view, just to an external window.

Sorry, OP, I don't think they have to do anything if they don't want to.

I used to work on hotel receptions and unfortunately not all rooms will have great views, but not everyone will care.

Those that do care will have requested it beforehand or ask to be moved once checked in if the hotel isn't full , but I have no idea what you would do without a manned reception .

How cheap was it? Plenty of cheap hotels have ugly views. You bought the room, with a window which it has, not the view unless it stated X view.

What hotel is it?

I think people are being a bit harsh. There is likely nothing to be done and the OP likely cannot demand a refund (unless the hotel plays nice), but it doesn't seem that the issue is not having a sea view or pretty view but not having any natural light - a window that is against a wall isn't really a window.

I did have a similar experience once (but was only there overnight and just went with it) where my room did have a very big window but there was a large and high retaining wall that I could touch if I reached out the window (I was on the ground floor). It made the room quite dark even when it was sunny out and basically negated having a window. Very different than just having a bad view (i.e. a view of the roof or parking lot or some such).

Unless it lists something about the view being scenic etc then you can't demand a refund because it's an ugly view

Surely you won't be in the hotel room much anyway?

And I thought our view overlooking the bin shed was bad

Of course you’re not entitled to a refund 🙄

Absolutely batshit to imagine you would be.

You paid for a room, which you received, not a scenic view.

YABU because I don’t see how you can expect a refund if everything about the room is perfectly functional and clean, and it’s just the window that is the issue. It wouldn’t bother me, but I can understand asking to be moved, and then if told no you would need to just accept that that’s what you’ve got.

The last nice hotel I stayed at overlooked a busy city street, so the curtains needed to be kept closed the entire time for privacy (sheers but still not great at letting light through). I’m not sure how that’s really much different. And as someone else said, how much time do you spend in the room anyway?

I can understand your disappointment. It's horrible when you check into a hotel and the view is awful (eg looking out at a carpark or the bins) - or in your case, no view at all.

But I have no idea why you would expect a refund unless the room has clearly been misrepresented. If it matches the description on the website then you'll just have to put up with it for a few days. Someone was going to get the room and it's just your bad luck that this time it's you.

I'd hate this too.

If there was no refund I'd be putting the hotel name and room number on trip advisor and anywhere else I could think of to warn others.

I doubt you will get a refund. We booked an iconic New York hotel for a Christmas break and had two double beds crammed into a tiny space and a view of a wall. Wasn’t great but I had no course for refund as the room I booked clearly described its square footage and no where on the booking said I would get a particular view.
just make the most of being away

Once arrived a a hotel for a week with work to find the slanting carpark on a hill was directly opposite my room, and I was there for a week.

So anyone getting in or out of their car looked directly in at me, and seemingly walked right to me, it was awful.

Rang down to reception, to ask if I could be moved, and they said yes of course, and moved me across and up the hotel to a room looking out to sea.

Unfortunately it was a stormy sea of scary looking waves all week, so I didn’t look out, but at least I didn’t car headlights and people looking in the room all week.

.

They don’t have to mention what the view is.

When you are a solo traveller on a package you often pay a single suppliment and still get the shittiest room in the hotel. And that means the one opposite a blank wall. Being ripped off like that was one of the reasons I began to travel independently. I admit I never visit real touristy destinations and often arrive at some weird am hour. For the first night |I just fall into whatever bed I am shown. Next day I visit reception and ask politely to be shown what empty rooms they have. I have aways ended up with an upgrade to a much better room and at no greater expense. A hotel that has vacancies does not want you going off elsewhere (which you are free to do as an independent). You can usually negotiate a deal.

What a nasty thing to do! Do your due diligence if it's that big a deal, don't be petty to try to harm someone's business just because you've decided to be completely unreasonable

I understand why you're frustrated and disappointed; it's not (mainly) the lack of a "nice view", but the close proximity to another taller building that cuts out most of your expected outside light. That's not unusual in very dense urban areas, and I think it's pretty normal for hotels to treat a room with a window into nowhere just like one with an unobscured window. I'm not surprised the hotel didn't mention it on the listing, but I am surprised no one mentioned it in reviews.

I'd just keep on pushing to change rooms - but check when a person will be on site at the facility. It may be only a few hours a day on weekdays. Explain the situation to them and ask to switch - they may still say no, nothing available, but it's kind of a step in the process you need to go through. On a four day booking, they might also say nothing available today but you can switch tomorrow.

Purely anecdotal: I've had booking.com help me a few times when the hotel or room was not as described but the hotel wouldn't help. In one case they called the hotel and got me a room change (and an apology, which I didn't need!) after the hotel refused, in another case the hotel simply didn't have the facilities they advertised so no switch possible, but booking.com comped me the cost of the night. It's worth trying if you've already tried a responsible person face to face at the hotel and they still won't help. If you have "Genius" (loyalty) status with booking.com, look for the number to call to get straight through to live help.

I don't think you can do anything about the room apart from requesting a change, which you have done.
However with regards to getting a response you could contact Booking.com direct and explain that you can't contact the hotelier.
I had to do that once and they were very helpful.

Thank you. I'll look for the loyalty number.

Yes, that's spot on about the window. I don't care what the view is, but I expect light & sto be able to see more than 4 foot. These windows may as well be painted on, they serve no purpose at all.

But that's exactly what Trip Advisor is for - warning potential travellers about the negatives as well as the positives of a destination/accommodation/attraction. There's even a special tool for room selection tips!

If OP had known about the window situation she would have booked elsewhere.

It's not petty. It's allowing others to do their "due diligence". If it's factually correct then there is no problem.

This is very common. Some places even have a false window with no natural light whatsoever. You aren't being sold a view or light, you're being sold a room so you're very unlikely to get a refund unfortunately.